Hawks confident they can resume winning ways

3 days off before 4-game trip could provide pause that refreshes after losing 2 games

March 12, 2013|By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

The 24 positives far outweigh the two negatives for the Blackhawks.

The key now is to make sure those consecutive defeats after a record-breaking streak to start the season don't become the norm.

"We (can't) get too down on ourselves, especially after the start we had," winger Patrick Kane said, referring to the run of 24 games without a regulation loss that kicked off the 2013 campaign. "We did something really special and no one can ever take that away from you. We just have to … get back to that mentality of not wanting to lose."

The Hawks were off the ice for the second day in a row Tuesday, enjoying a three-day respite between games after playing a grueling stretch of seven in 11 nights. After a rare practice Wednesday, they will board their charter flight to Columbus, Ohio, where they will kick off a four-game trip Thursday night against the Blue Jackets.

"It's four in a row with about a week on the road," Kane said. "It's another chance to start from scratch. It's nice to have a couple of days off to regroup."

The Hawks (21-2-3) are dealing with their first real adversity of the season on the heels of a 6-2 road setback to the Avalanche on Friday and a 6-5 home loss to the Oilers on Sunday.

"We'll bounce back," goaltender Ray Emery said. "We (don't) want to be considered a streaky team, we want to be a consistent team. We'll use the couple of days to refocus for the next game."

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the losses were the combined 12 goals against, fairly stunning for the team that had led the NHL in defense. Entering Tuesday's NHL play, the Hawks had dropped to second at 2.12 goals allowed per game after leading with 1.79 before the defensive breakdowns.

"It's just shoring up a few things defensively, whether that's in our own zone or the neutral zone or being smart with the puck in the offensive zone," defenseman Duncan Keith said. "We all were capable of being better defensively the last couple of games."

Added forward Andrew Shaw: "We're going to pick each other up and battle as hard as we can to get back to our game. We'll be fine. We just got away from little things, supporting the puck, coming out underneath and just getting those out along the boards."

Focusing on the road has been a specialty of the Hawks as they flourished during a stretch of 10 of 12 games to start the season away from home. Included in that was a six-game trip during which the Hawks dropped the first two in shootouts and then reeled off four consecutive victories to set the tone for their winning ways.

"We have the same mentality because it was such a big key to the start of the season to be successful on that road trip," Kane said. "With this one coming up we want to get some momentum off that, too, especially after two losses. We feel we can do some special things."

Hayes up: With veteran defenseman Steve Montador headed to Rockford of the AHL for a conditioning stint, the Hawks recalled forward Jimmy Hayes on Tuesday. Hayes, 23, can play both wing and center. He has 22 goals and 17 assists in 58 games with the IceHogs this season.

The 6-6, 221-pounder appeared in 31 games with the Hawks last season with five goals and four assists.

Montador, who was assigned to Rockford on Tuesday, still is recovering from a concussion that has sidelined him all season. He said last week needs to get into game shape before rejoining the lineup.